The Doug Lange Network 

October 13, 2018 

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Meridian celebrated the return of their all-state lineman Adam Kruzich in the best way possible, by running the football. The Trojans mounted a near unstoppable rushing attack to beat the Nooksack Valley Pioneers 40-to-27 Friday night in Laurel. 

 

Led by quarterback Dawson Logan, Meridian (5-2, 3-1 NWC) ran for 326 yards and four touchdowns to pick up their 3rd straight victory. A bulk of that rushing attack came behind Kruzich after the 233-pound senior returned from injury after missing 3 plus games. 

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"It felt awesome, it's been a long road trying to get back this season," said Kruzich. "The entire team we came together, we had a job, we did it."  

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Logan totaled 199 yards and 3 scores on the ground. The senior also connected with Kevin Galiano in the first half and Dylan Hickok in the second for touchdowns. 

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Hickok added a rushing touchdown and Cole Roberts picked up 93 yards on the ground.

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Galiano's 25-yard TD catch just 9 seconds before halftime opened up a tight contest giving the Trojans an 18-7 halftime advantage.  

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Nooksack Valley scored on their first drive of the second half. Austin O'Bryan linked up with Tyler Rawls on a 26 yard scoring strike to pull to within 18-13, but that's as close as they would get the rest of the contest.

 

MORE: Listen to the Archived Broadcast 

 

The Pioneers kept mounting a comeback. it wasn't until Alex Carrillo and Galiano each picked off passes on back-to-back Nooksack Valley drives inside of 4 minutes that Meridian could finally secure their fifth win of the season.   

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"This is Whatcom County football. We're all good football teams and good football teams play that way. We were just lucky to get this one," said Meridian coach Bob Ames. 

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O'Bryan was the offensive focal point for the Pioneers. The senior finished the night going 16-of-32 for 193 passing yards with 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He also added 169 yards rushing on 23 carries and a TD. 

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Nooksack Valley (3-4, 0-4 NWC) will play host to the Lynden Christian next Friday still looking for their first 1A conference victory of the year.

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Meridian will next play at Mount Baker October 19th. It will be a battle for first place in the NWC 1A after the Mountaineers beat the Lyncs 20-13 Friday night.  You can hear the Meridian at Mount Baker game on The Doug Lange Network with coverage beginning at 6:45pm. 

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- Doug Lange 

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